Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

 

9/10

Finished reading this about a month ago. Mallory picked it for me to read, but my six-year-old Brandon saw it and was super interested in it. He's obsessed with the Titanic and George Washington, so learning about Mt. Everest is very on brand for Brandon. So I read the entire book to him. We both loved it, although he certainly had moments of disinterest. I found it completely fascinating and as good of a picture of the Mt. Everest experience I could imagine. Add to it the fact that there was some intense drama with lives in the balance, with several being lost, and this was one of those books that is hard to put down. The story of Beck Weathers was totally unbelievable, something I would have scoffed at if this were a fiction novel, and yet he somehow managed to survive after being left for dead multiple times. I knew Mt. Everest was a dangerous climb but I didn't fully realize just how frequent death was, basically every year to some degree. I feel bad for those who lost their lives but they seemed to be doing what they loved. I enjoyed getting to learn more about the mountain and it gave me some of the adventurous spirit that I had as a youngster, making me want to go out and do some hiking.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

 

7/10

I read this about a month ago when my kids brought it home as part of a reading challenge from their elementary school. We read about 20 pages or so every night and finished the book in a couple weeks. It was a good book and a quick read based on the short chapters and spaced out writing on each page. Ivan is easy to root for and the other animals complement the story nicely. Not too much overall drama other than the slow realization of the poor living conditions Ivan and the others have been in most of their lives without them completely realizing it. It was a fun story for the kids.

The Passover by Ron Millburn

10/10

I read this a few months ago when my old man sent this to me for my B-day. It's his second little booklet that he's had published and it is solid as expected. It points out several nice connections between the Jewish Passover and the Savior. The symbolism is there and this does a nice job of breaking it down. I had been introduced to several of these previously in my Dad's blog, but it was nice seeing it drawn out in this book. I also enjoyed that he was able to get in my Grandpa's favorite saying about things being longer than the Ten Commandments. Looking forward to the next book, whenever that may be.